BUYER TRIGGERS The 10 Psychological Triggers That Convert Leads

Into Customers and Clients

1. The Quest for Pleasure

2. The Pursuit of New and Original

3. The One Right Reason

4. What’s the Story?

5. Simplicity

6. Following / Popularity / Brand Value / Fandom

7. Enticement or Intrigue

8. Fear of Loss / Fear of Missing Out

9. Verifiable Proof

10. Fuss / Hype / Press / Controversy

“People buy emotionally, then rationalize their purchase

intellectually.” ~ UNKNOWN

The mind is the beginning of every action and reaction in our world.

What we do physically is merely the reflection of what’s going on in

our mind. Our actions are extensions of our thoughts. Even when our

actions seem to go against our thoughts, they are in fact driven by

our subconscious compulsions. Every action and reaction can be

traced back to this basic principle.

Customers, consumers or clients are no different. The size of the deal

is no different. People make their buying decisions based on their

psychological triggers. These psychological triggers can be

influenced by many factors, including the salesperson.

Here are the ten most important psychological triggers that convert

leads into customers.

1. The Quest for Pleasure Every human being is drawn towards pleasure and to avoid pain. No

one wants to suffer and everyone wants to have a good time. This

desire for pleasure drives peoples buying decisions. As a company,

marketing professional or salesperson, you need to present your

product or service to help your Lead to imagine some form of

pleasure. That pleasure may be looking good for the CEO, it may be

the elimination of a source of frustration, or it may be a purchase long

delayed that they just need to get it done. The product or service

could be anything from a foot massager to a large service contract.

I am not trying to discount the impact of affordability. Cost vs value

will always be a strong influencing factor in a purchase decision.

However, the Lead will be much more interested in if pleasure is

assured. The worst selling products in any industry are those that

don’t offer any substantial pleasure to its intended customers or

users.

Pleasure is not always physical, emotional, or psychological. It varies

from person to person. Pleasure needs to be well defined in the

context of the product and for the kind of audience you are targeting.

Once you identify the exact form of pleasure your audience wants,

set your marketing and sales strategy accordingly. A materialistic

product can provide emotional pleasure and an immaterial service

can also give some form of physical pleasure. Smart marketers know

how to package their product or service and how to convey this

message.

2. The Pursuit of New and Original People love new things. New clothes, new shoes, a new car, a new

house, a new phone, a new laptop, a new set of speakers, a new set

of wine glasses – “new” has an alluring appeal. New, combined with

originality, has an even more powerful impact. Look at some of the

“me too” products or services that are widely marketed in your

industry. Your Leads have developed a ‘ho hum’ attitude about them.

New and/or original will turn their head.

The pursuit of new and original can be explained through the proven

fascination with novelty. Studies have shown that exposure or

anticipation of novelty items increases the secretion of dopamine in

the human brain. This become a neurological trigger.

Here are two examples that illustrate this principle:

Every smartphone maker in the world keeps releasing new variants

of their existing models. Automakers do the same thing. Other than

the rare instance, there is hardly any significant change or

improvement in the subsequent variants.

You can consider everything from an iPhone to a Galaxy, a

Volkswagen to a Cadillac. The existing models are repackaged,

some specifications are tweaked, some features are marginally

upgraded and there you have a newly manufactured phone or car.

This new original product builds anticipation and is satiating for many

people. What’s old is the past and people don’t like lingering in the

past. Everyone wants a piece of the future.

3. The One Right Reason Every product in the world has multiple features and at least one

benefit. Otherwise, the product should not exist. The features and

benefits capture the Lead’s attention and will trigger some interest.

But they are not enough to drive the sale.

You can talk as much as you want about the benefits or features and

yet you may never convert a lead into a customer. The reality is

simple. The lead is waiting for their own one, right reason to buy.

Many marketers and salespeople have been misled to believe that

people need multiple reasons to buy something. It is absolutely not

true. Most people don’t even know all the features of the products

that they have purchased. The average consumer is, frankly, not that

interested. Nor do they have time to investigate all of the features and

benefits of a product or service. They have their own one, right

reason. Your job is to discover that reason.

Think about organic food or green tea. Does an average consumer

know all the differences between organic food and inorganic food?

Does an average consumer know the exact difference between green

tea and what has been called tea for ages? Even those who drink tea

everyday don’t know the difference between normal tea and green

tea or black tea and yellow tea. People have t h e i r o w n one right

reason to buy organic food or green tea and that has been enough

to propel the sales these two products across the world.

4. What’s the Story? It might be disappointing to know that your Leads are not that

interested in the story of your company. They don’t want to hear how

a product has been created or evolved and certainly not when the

product is yet to become a bestseller. Your Leads will be interested

in a story that will trigger their emotions. This is the story that

marketers or advertisers must craft.

(You may want to check the book Whoever Tells The Best Story Wins

-Amazon Link)

Many years ago, when television advertising was not as pervasive as

it is today, Volkswagen came out with a new commercial. It was just

an image of identical houses in a nondescript but beautiful suburban

neighborhood with lawns and paved driveways. Every house had a

car parked outside, which was the Volkswagen station w a g o n .

The image was captivating and it was combined with a few lines that

told a great story. It triggered an emotional response. Needless to

say, Volkswagen had an amazing result.

You may be vaguely aware of the commercials of the sixties through

the eighties and even the nineties. You are certainly aware of the

stories various commercials tell during the Super Bowl. The

advertisers have combined originality, novelty, and newness with a

memorable event. The objective is simple: tell a simple, memorable

story, trigger an emotional response, and make an immediate

connection with the audience.

5. Simplicity

Consumers love sophistication, complex craftsmanship, complicated

mechanisms and technology marvels. At the same time, they don’t

want to deal with the specific details. They want the results, prestige,

or status these offer and they must be simple enough for them to use.

Everyone uses a car remote transponder key but who really wants to

know how a push button ignition works or what the transponder chip

actually does?

Any product that appears to be complicated or difficult to use will not

influence a Lead to become a customer. Every product that is utterly

simple to use and has some significant utility (i.e.… gives the Lead

the result they want) will always influence a Lead to at least consider

buying.

You may sell or market products and services that aren’t simple. It is

your job as a salesperson or marketer to simplify the product

messaging and presentation. The Lead must believe it is simple to

use of the product or service, to feel the benefits of the features, or to

eventually feel the pleasure as promised. If the customer has to make

an effort to understand a product or service, if a Lead imagines

using the product or service to be tiresome or requiring a great deal

of labor (or brainpower), then the decision not to buy becomes the

easier one to make.

6. Following / Popularity / Brand Value / Fandom This could be the most important psychological trigger. The reason

I didn’t put it at the top of the list is because a company has to master

the first five to become a brand worthy of following. Popularity of a

brand instills credibility. People trust its products or services.

Fandom instills a sense of unity. People come together and feel like

a part of a larger group. Human beings are wired to find a common

reason to unite. Cultivating a loyal following is essential in this day of

marketing message bombardment.

That is why millions of people around the world line up to grab the

latest iPhone. In addition to the pursuit of novelty and the quest for

pleasure, it is a sense of being a part of the larger group of iPhone

users. This kind of fandom drives people to put in the effort, spend

their money, and stick little Apple logo decals on the windows of their

cars!

7. Enticement or Intrigue We are drawn to what we know or have experienced. We like eating

our favorite foods, we cook the recipes we have mastered, we

support our favorite teams, and we like the comfort of being with our

friends. There is a part of us that wants predictability, certainty and

continuity. Then there is a part of the mind that craves surprises, that

wants to explore the unknown, and is waiting to be enticed or

intrigued. This curious part of our mind can be leveraged by a

company to generate traction for its product or service.

This is not the same as the pursuit of something new or original. This

is more about our innate longing for something different. While we go

about our day in a mostly predictable manner, we want to try out

something new or have a different experience. Any product or service

that has this kind of intrigue or enticement will more easily convert

Leads into c u s t o m e r s .

8. Fear of Loss / Fear of Missing Out This is a powerful psychological trigger. Unfortunately, its impact has

been diluted in recent years from being overused and even abused

by many companies.

Fear of loss has always been a driving force in sales and has led to

overnight bestsellers. It works best only when used sparingly.

Companies can’t keep blasting their Leads with emails and

messages, highlighting limited time specials over and over.

There is an online music instrument store that sends me an

‘exclusive’ 15% off discount coupon at least twice a week. I know

that if I want to buy anything the starting price is always going to be

15% less. It doesn’t motivate me to take action today at all.

If your Lead knows that they are going to keep getting the same offer

or similar promotions time and again, then it doesn’t really create

any fear of loss.

Smartly timed, placed and messaged campaigns that genuinely instill

a fear of loss will always convert a Lead into a customer.

Fear of missing out needs to be well substantiated. It cannot be a

random claim. Companies need to provide enough proof that the item

has already been bought by others who are like the Lead being

targeted. This doesn’t work so well for a newly launched product or

service. The Leads don’t even know what they would be missing.

9. Verifiable Proof Whatever it is that you promote, a Lead is likely to believe your claims

if there is verifiable proof. Products in action, services being endorsed

by people, independent studies or reviews that substantiate the

claims, and any kind of proof that is verifiable, creates the level of

trust a Lead needs to make the final decision.

As long as there is any skepticism over the functionality or utility,

durability or reasonability of a product or service, a Lead will not take

action. The verifiable proof can be something as obvious as a strong

social media following and/or endorsements. Testimonials from

satisfied clients are the most powerful form of verifiable proof.

10. Fuss / Hype / Press / Controversy Press or media has incredible, influential psychological impact.

Almost anything in “print” tilts the credibility scale in your favor. When

something gets highlighted by the press, people pay attention. When

there is a lot of buzz or hype surrounding a launch or about a product,

service or company, there is an urge to check it out. Even when there

is some kind of controversy, it helps in publicizing the product or

service.

I don’t believe that bad publicity is a successful sales and marketing

strategy. At the same time, it is obviously true that the hype or buzz

of media attention are psychological triggers.

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